Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) Short Interest Update

Ardelyx, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARDX) was the target of a large growth in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 26,630,000 shares, a growth of 12.7% from the January 15th total of 23,620,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 4,770,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.6 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ARDX has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Ardelyx from $11.00 to $8.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Ardelyx from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. HC Wainwright restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $5.50 price objective on shares of Ardelyx in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Citigroup reduced their price target on Ardelyx from $12.00 to $10.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised Ardelyx to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ardelyx presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $9.42.

Ardelyx Price Performance

ARDX stock traded up $0.13 during trading on Friday, reaching $5.79. The company had a trading volume of 3,514,262 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,426,183. Ardelyx has a 52 week low of $4.32 and a 52 week high of $9.83. The business has a 50 day moving average of $5.24 and a 200 day moving average of $5.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 4.03 and a quick ratio of 3.87.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Michael Raab sold 41,666 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.31, for a total transaction of $221,246.46. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,129,552 shares in the company, valued at $5,997,921.12. This represents a 3.56 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director David M. Mott acquired 213,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 19th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $4.67 per share, for a total transaction of $996,111.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 1,638,765 shares in the company, valued at $7,653,032.55. This represents a 14.96 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 177,938 shares of company stock worth $924,239. 5.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ardelyx

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ardelyx during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Ardelyx during the fourth quarter worth $41,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Ardelyx during the fourth quarter valued at $51,000. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group purchased a new position in shares of Ardelyx during the fourth quarter valued at $51,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd grew its stake in Ardelyx by 287.0% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 11,315 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 8,391 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.92% of the company’s stock.

Ardelyx Company Profile

Ardelyx, Inc, a biopharmaceutical company, discovers, develops, and commercializes medicines to treat gastrointestinal and cardiorenal therapeutic areas in the United States and internationally. The company’s lead product candidate is tenapanor for the treatment of patients with irritable bowel syndrome with constipation.